Yeah, but gee... wouldn't it just SUCK to survive the tornado and then die from thirst (or dysentery because you were so thirsty that you drank unsafe water)?

Love,

-- Claudia

Most unlikely. Tornadoes don't affect such a wide area that rescue crews couldn't get in fairly quickly or people couldn't walk in a town or city to where there was food, water and shelter if roads are blocked or vehicles damaged. Unlike hurricanes, a tornado hits and moves along as speedily as a thunderstorm does. One a mile wide and six miles long such as the one that hit Joplin, MO is an unusually big one that stays on the ground much longer than is typical. A path a mile or slightly longer is more common.

It'd be most unusual for rescuers not to arrive within 24 hours of a tornado striking. Even in Joplin, people who weren't seriously injured could walk a mile or two and reach an untouched area. Many crawled out of the debris and went to stay with relatives or friends elsewhere in town, which is why there were so many on the missing list for such a long time. There is that advantage to a tornado.

You might be very grateful to be trapped in your basement with your stored water nearby, but that would be about how useful it would be if your home were hit by a tornado. Most people who get to their basement can get out if their house is hit or are rescued fairly soon afterward.

I was being a bit of a smart*** answering as I did. Seriously, though, a lot of people who live where tornadoes are common get blase about taking precautions. We've heard of too many instances of someone who went right to the supposed safest area of their basement only to die when their house collapsed into the basement. The smart thing to do is to buy or build a home with a reinforced tornado shelter in the basement if you can. Those offer the best protection.

Ah, tornadoes! One more reason to be grateful that last month, hubby and I finally escaped the purgatory known as Kansas!

***Claudia does a happy dance***

Love,

-- Claudia

I can definitely relate to your euphoria at having done that. I'd lived my entire life there (58 years total except for a year in NM in grad school) until we moved to the St. Looey metro a few years ago.

It's a WHOLE lot better than most of my old home state...lots prettier and greener too. We actually have wooded areas, a stream and a big pond with ducks on it within a half mile of our apartment. I'd have had to drive about 300 miles to get anywhere with all three when I lived in Western KS.

Four days would be much longer than it would take them to repair the sewer line damage.

And since I live in a big city and the water problems would be very lcoalized I could just jog on down to the nearest store and buy some more.

There are advantages in living in a moderate to low earthquake zone.

BTW--if we have hurricanes--and we sometimes do get the leftover precipitation which can go on for days (our record is four days of continuous rain) --our problem is usually too much water rather than not enough.

I lived the vast majority of my years in Kansas in the western third of the state, from 96-08 in Wichita, which was a little more scenic but not very, certainly not as much so as the northeastern quarter where you were.

There were good things about Kansas, but I never did appreciate the prairie landscape with, as we used to joke, its miles and miles of nothing much but miles and miles.

I lived the vast majority of my years in Kansas in the western third of the state, from 96-08 in Wichita, which was a little more scenic but not very, certainly not as much so as the northeastern quarter where you were.

There were good things about Kansas, but I never did appreciate the prairie landscape with, as we used to joke, its miles and miles of nothing much but miles and miles.

One summer we drove across Kansas to the Rockies and I was fascinated by the undulating hills of grain. Noticed after that the barren landscape of eastern Colorado. We went home through Nebraska which was flat, flat, flat--with giant irrigation sprinklers everywhere.

Leavenworth is also close to both Kansas Cities : pro ball, good restaurants, decent art museum. Leavenworth itself is on the Missouri River, too.

We used to play a game about what it took to be a town in various places; Kansas--a grain elevator and railroad siding, Georgia--3 Baptist churches and 3 beauty shops, Cape Cod--many package stores and at least 3 white-steepled churches.

I certainly know the grain elevator aspect of small Kansas towns. My dad was a grain elevator manager for most of my childhood.

I still have fond memories of riding my bike to the elevator during wheat harvest when the owner stocked one of those now quaint open-box-type metal soda coolers filled with chilled water. Remember those? I bet you do.

You put in your nickel and slid your chosen soda bottle along the channel in the metal rack which held the bottlenecks upright. Then, when it got to the little release mechanism, you tugged the bottle up and out, inserting its top into the bottle opener gadget on the side of the cooler. We'd no idea there'd be such a marvel as twist-off caps in several years.

I had to hang around the office till I'd finished my soda (only one, too!) so as to put the empty bottle with others to be exchanged for the deposit.

I agree that storing water just in case is wise, but as much trouble as I have keeping up with expiration dates on foods in the fridge and pantry, I'll take my chances. I'd never remember to haul out a jug of that stored water occasionally, use and refill it to keep the emergency supply fairly fresh!

You may also see Sodium or Potassium metabisulfite. Same purpose, same amounts -- use 1/8 teaspoon per gallon.

Sulfites work by adding free sulfur to the liquid. The sulfur displaces free oxygen and kills off all bacteria, wild yeasts, mold, etc. Then it outgasses -- goes into the air -- over the next 24-36 hours, so you need to keep your liquid open to the air. For winemaking, we cover our "must" (fruit puree liquid) with a cloth to keep the flies out. For sanitizing water, it's probably safe to just leave the cap off the bottle.